peng ink

If you told me a year ago that there would be a sequel to No More Heroes, I would have believed you. That’s because the game hadn’t been released.

But since its release, word has it the sales haven’t been so good. As the story goes, on launch day in Japan Goichi Suda held a game signing at an Akihabara game store. After 20 minutes passed and not a single purchase had been made, a member of the press took pity and bought the first copy. As often happens in the Bizarro World, western sales have reportedly been much better, but enough to warrant a sequel? It’s a Christmas miracle!

I have an immense respect for Suda51. Not only does the man have the balls to make a game mainly for an audience an ocean away, but to put whatever he wants into the game, down to the cat petting mini-game, sensual waggle motions, and 4th wall shattering wiimote speaker segments. Nothing is beyond the guy, I mean he’s got NUMBERS in his name for crying out loud!

First real job. First day of work.

Tomorrow.

No matter how hard I resist, I’m again drawn to the latest TIGSource compo, this time with the theme Procedural Generation. And surprisingly, something good has come of it.

What would it feel like to surf on a sine wave? The initial idea came up while I was working on a game for post-orthopedic surgery patients (more on that later), and since then I’ve been sitting on it for nearly half a year. Then I got a call from Raph, antsy for gamedev action, and I couldn’t refuse.

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Sadly, this might be my last XNA project as the horrors of XNA PC distribution are too strong to ignore anymore. Sure, it’s a blast while you’re making the game, but when it’s time for release, nobody but other XNA devs will be able to run your game without considerable trouble. How much trouble?

A basic PC XNA requirements list

1. The XNA Redistributable - all right, makes sense
2. Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 - for C#, beats downloading both 2.0 and 2.0 SP1
3. DirectX Runtime - unless you’re already up to date (you probably aren’t)
4. A graphics card that supports pixel shader 2.0 - no shader effects for you! or game for that matter…

Good luck! (You’ll need it.)

So I was thinking about all the cool creative people here in Northern Virginia, and wondering what would happen if I brought everyone together in a single place to jam. On games.

I’m expecting the house to implode with awesome.

As with most game development jams, there’s some sort of underlying theme to 12hr. I figured why not take it further, and make the theme a game as well.

Every person will be randomly assigned a theme from a hat (be it EXPANSION, NEGATIVE, MINIMALIST, SPACE, DINOSAURS or what have you). However, if people wish to collaborate, their game must then fulfill the thematic assignments of everyone working on the game. Hopefully this will yield in interesting collaborations, and even more interesting games!

Snacks/beer will be provided, but you’ll have to bring your own tools (laptops, graphics tablets, mice etc). Also, feel free to invite other people - the more the merrier!

As we can see, Mr. Schafer did not pay enough attention to the source material. Guns? Katanas? Space colonists? Eddie Murphy look-alike? Sounds like a recipe for success! Take note and you’ll have a platinum seller on your hands in no time.

These past few months of unemployment have been quite interesting. Most people around these parts have had jobs lined up since January, and as such I’ve developed a reputation for being “too picky”. But life is short and opportunities are rare.

I think the post college job search process is almost like gambling. Some people hit jackpot early, cash out immediately, and retire. Others might exchange their chips as soon as they make a profit. As for me? I go for broke (777).

I recently participated in the Video Game Name Generator Competion, where the tigsource community took randomly generated video game titles and brought them to life. With the glorious prize of “indie street cred” at stake, I threw together Pro Mushroom Slam in three days.

Pro Mushroom Slam is a game in the vein of those clunky NES fighting games, like Karate Champ and Kinnikuman Muscle Tag Match, before the genre matured with Street Fighter II. I did all of the sprite art, coding, music, and sound effects all by myself; in other words, this means that your ears will bleed.

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COME. That is all.

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“Heather Kelley, Rod Humble and Gregory Peng — all experienced game designers — give a look into the process, people and resources involved in creating a video game. Aside from a game’s plot, art and music, they argue that game developers offer an artistic statement in controlling, through “rules,” the way a player interacts with the game’s environment, characters, and what they have to do to win.”

WARNING: I am ask to define an art game, as well as what indie means. Tread at own risk.